Lawmakers Bring In Big Money As They Close The Books on 2009

End-of-year campaign finance reports were due to the Federal Election Commission on January 31, and since then, the researchers at the Center for Responsive Politics have been busy processing the data.

A preliminary analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that 433 sitting members of the U.S. House of Representatives raised $78 million during the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of 5.4 percent above their third-quarter hauls.

Overall, these members raised $294 million during 2009, spent $169 million and ended the year with about $300 million in cash on hand, CRP found.

The mean amount these lawmakers raised during the fourth quarter was about $179,000 — and about $680,000 for the entire year. The median amount was about $133,000 during the fourth quarter, and about $526,500 for the entire year.

In the Senate, the Center for Responsive Politics found that 96 incumbent senators raised $36.6 million during the fourth quarter — an increase of 2 percent above their third-quarter totals. Overall, these senators raised $152 million during 2009, spent $79 million and ended the year with $235 million in the bank.

The mean amount a sitting senator during the fourth quarter was about $381,000, with an average of about $1.6 million raised for the entire year. The median amount raised was about $166,000 during the fourth quarter, and about $568,000 for the entire year.

Senators are not required to file their campaign finance reports electronically, unlike their counterparts in the House, which slows the disclosure of these records. (Encourage the Senate to require electronic filing! Tell your senators to support S. 482, the legislation that would establish this.)

A list of members of the House and Senate for whom the Center for Responsive Politics is still awaiting data from the FEC can be found here. You can also monitor the total and average amounts raised by all incumbents and all challengers on our website here. And profiles of all members and races are available as well.

In the coming days and weeks, the Center will continue to examine the end-of-year campaign finance data and report on all of our findings for giving trends, industry and sector totals and more.

Incumbent representatives running for higher office are among those who have raised the most money during 2009. These include:

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who is running for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Roland Burris, who was appointed after Barack Obama was elected president, raised $4.8 million in 2009;

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, raised $4.6 million during 2009;

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), who is running for the open Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. George LeMieux, who was appointed after Republican Mel Martinez retired mid-term, raised $3.5 million;

Furthermore, leaders in both parties were also among those with the biggest hauls in the House last year. Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) raised $2.6 million, while Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) raised $2.4 million. And Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) raised $2.3 million, while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) brought in $1.5 million.

Vocal partisans on each side of the aisle also attracted large sums from their respective party’s bases. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who infamously heckled President Barack Obama during an address to Congress, raised $416,100 during the fourth quarter, bringing his total haul for the year to $3.4 million. And outspoken liberal Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) brought in $1.7 million during the fourth quarter, for an end-of-year total of nearly $2.4 million.

In the Senate, incumbents facing heated reelection challenges were among those lawmakers who raised the most money during 2009 as well. These include:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who raised $2 million during the fourth quarter, bringing his 2009 total to $9.5 million;

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who decided to retire in January, raised $2 million during the fourth quarter, bringing his 2009 total to $5.1 million

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who raised $1.9 million during the fourth quarter, bringing her 2009 total to $5.9 million;

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who raised $1.6 million during the fourth quarter, bringing her 2009 total to $7.1 million; and

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who raised $1.3 million during the fourth quarter, bringing her 2009 total to $5.5 million.

Leading the money race among all sitting senators was Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who raised $3 million during the fourth quarter to bring his 2009 total to $10.1 million. Only Republican Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was his party’s 2008 presidential nominee ended the year with more cash on hand: Schumer’s committee had $19.4 million in the bank, while McCain’s had $27.5 million — of which much remains from his presidential fund. (For his part, McCain will also be fending off a more conservative primary challenger in ex-talk radio host and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.)

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